


Sweet Tooth

by underwaterocean



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Candy Store, F/M, Link washes dishes, Modern AU, They both want candy, Zelda has space buns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:21:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29576028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/underwaterocean/pseuds/underwaterocean
Summary: Zelda just wants candy, but finds Link instead. Sweet and short little oneshot because I made a silly tumblr comment and couldn't resist.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 56





	Sweet Tooth

Zelda wore her favorite new plaid overall dress, the one Mipha told her made her look like she escaped a Catholic school, as she casually eyed over the rows of sweets and confections in the brightly lit candy store tacked onto the end of the bustling food court. It was Friday night and she’d just left the movie theater with Mipha who had to dash away early when her boyfriend texted her he’d gotten out of going to swim practice. She’d apologized profusely and Zelda was trying her hardest not to be irritated with her as she tightened her space buns, reading the little label on the nearest candy container that read Goron Spiced Chocolates. **  
**

She raised a brow in interest as she looked at its neighbor. Guardian Gummies. The little golden spheres had a juicy blue center to imitate the ancient flame with long gummy legs that made them look more like demented sea creatures than a deadly machine. Her eyes caught on a box of Dubious Jellies which claimed to hide a less than appetizing flavor amongst the other fruity ones before continuing to rove down the rows of sweets, the plastic bag in her hands sticking to her fingers with a light sheen of sweat as she cursed herself for wearing the long sleeved bodysuit underneath her dress instead of the short sleeved one she’d originally picked. She was pulling at the tight collar while eyeing a bundle of rupee shaped chocolates when she felt her body collide with someone immediately to her right. She had been so lost in her own thoughts she hadn’t even noticed him there at all.

His voice had a raspy softness to it that she took to instantly as she listened to him apologize more than once as if their collision were in any way his fault. He had on a crumpled white button up and black slacks, his all black, non-skid shoes immediately giving him away as a restaurant worker. 

“It’s fine, I just wasn’t paying attention to...” her words shriveled on her lips like her face after eating a sour straw when her visual scan of his body reached his eyes, which were like looking at the planet from space, the deep blues drawing her into his orbit almost effortlessly, “...where I was going…” she laughed nervously, realizing how awkward she’d just made it. 

He swallowed hard, running a hand down the front of his shirt in an obvious and desperate attempt to rid it of its deep set wrinkles as he cleared his throat and weakly nodded in return before mumbling another apology anyway. 

His fumbling made her giggle and she looked at the open box he’d likely been about to reach for before she tried to run him over. 

“Have you ever tried those?” she pointed to the golden sugar crystals spun on long sticks to mimic the spikes of a plant, “Stafflina Straws?” 

“They taste like honey,” he responded softly, closing the lid as he chanced another look her way before shuffling his feet underneath him. 

The air between them turned awkward again when neither one of them made an attempt to end the conversation, choosing instead to stand there waiting on the other to say something. 

“Have you-”  
  
“So do you-” they said at the same time. 

“Sorry, you go ahead,” Link corrected himself, giving her a polite nod she was sure he’d practiced in his time as a server. What a gentleman, she thought with a shy grin. 

“So do you uh, work in the mall?” she continued her sentence, wondering if the burning on her cheeks was visible or if it was the tight neckline of her bodysuit making her feel like she was going to boil and reduce to caramel right there in the middle of the store. 

“Yeah, the place downstairs.”

“The one with the tacky golden decor and the overpriced cheesecakes?” she asked with a tilt of her head, noticing for the first time the name tag sticking out of the folds on his shirt, deflating slightly when she realized it was too faded to read.

“That’s the one,” he said, the edges of his lips tilting up to tease a smile as he blinked his eyes up to her face again and then retreated back to safety of pretending to look at the candies. 

“Cool,” she replied shortly, cursing herself for not managing to come up with anything more intriguing than a simple word. 

They separated briefly as she filled her own bag, not even paying attention now to what she put in as she eyed him from across the room. He had one of the paper boxes in the style of Chinese take-out and he seemed to be filling it with only one type of candy. She slowly made her way back over, feigning interest in a nearby container before she caught his eye again. 

“What did you settle on?” she asked innocently, stifling a giggle when she noticed his box full to the brim with speckled little candy rocks. He’d picked nothing else. 

“Oh uh...I just like them, I guess,” he smiled sheepishly at her, quickly tucking in the little edges of the box to close it before turning his body as if he were about to head towards the register. 

“I like those too,” she said before he could walk away, “Oh! You should get one of these too, they are so good!” she trapped one of the gummy frogs that were nestled in a nearby bin in between the tiny arms of the store tongs, comically dangling its little limp legs around in the air before him. 

The little half shrug, half shy grin he gave her as he offered his box towards her was so cute she thought she might implode, hoping her tight body suit was enough to keep her insides from staining the bright, overly waxed white of the tile floor beneath her before they could scoop her off of it. She plopped the single sweet amphibian onto the lid of his closed box, fumbling with her keys a moment as he seemed to stand there waiting on her to say something else before he walked to the register to pay. 

“Hey uh...are you leaving the mall? I mean, after this,” she asked. 

He raised his brows as her question caught him by surprise, but nodded slightly, briefly sucking his bottom lip under his teeth as he did so. 

“It’s just...I parked in the parking garage,” she waved her key around as she spoke, “And it’s getting dark and it kind of creeps me out in there. I thought maybe if you’re already going that way you might walk with me. I mean, if you want.”

He snapped his mouth shut after it momentarily fell, scrubbing his hand across his face before agreeing. 

“Yeah, that’s fine. I don’t mind.”

“Perfect,” she smiled in return. 

They paid for their treats with Link going first. She noticed the little anime character embossed on his bank card that he quickly tried to hide back in his wallet as she stood beside him until she pulled out her own matching one. It was the same character, just a different design. He smiled for real that time, his eyes crinkling at the edges as she excitedly mentioned she’d never met anyone else that loved it enough to put it on their card like she did. Mipha had always teased her for it.

They fell into a more comfortable chatter as they braved the cold concrete of the parking garage until they finally made it to Zelda’s car. 

“I guess I should get going,” she said, the disappointment in her voice a little too noticeable as she popped her door open. 

“Oh okay. Um..have a good night. And be safe, I guess. I mean, on your drive,” he stuttered, rubbing at the back of his neck while he cringed at himself. 

“Maybe you could walk me out next time I come to the mall. You know, since you work here.”

His eyes grew wide as he nodded enthusiastically, his hand falling to swing by his side. 

“Yeah! I mean, yeah. I don’t mind. I’m always here.”

She tucked her long bangs behind her ear as she dug through her bag until she found a stray glitter gel pen. She motioned for him to lift up his hand and he did so cautiously, watching as she wrote a number lightly across his palm before signing her name. She then offered the pen to him and he took it gingerly, writing his own number on her palm, both of them trying not to tremble at the light touch of the other’s hand. 

“That way if I text you, you’ll know it’s just me and not some weirdo,” she clarified as he handed her pen back to her. 

He stared down at his hand like he was seeing an open treasure box of silver rupees before gulping and closing his fist, shoving it far into his pocket as he nodded again. 

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Uh...Zelda,” he chanced using the name he’d read, sighing in relief as it seemed to immediately pay off when her face lit up at the sound of her name in his voice. 

“Goodnight...Link,” she said his name with the same unsure emphasis he’d used on hers before giggling and climbing into her car. 

“Yeah goodnight,” he answered even though she’d already started to back out of her spot, waving at him lightly as she pulled forward and out of the parking garage. 

He watched her car drive away with a huge grin on his face, plopping the frog into his mouth before turning and reentering the mall so that he could exit on the other side of the building where he’d actually parked. 

**Author's Note:**

> Well. Here it is. lol


End file.
